The Day Madear Voted
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A moving look at a Black family’s journey to exercise their right to vote and imagine a better future.
Charlie and Ralph’s mom has waited a long time to vote because countless obstacles have been put in Black people’s way to stop them from having a say in elections—obstacles that it took a lot of hard work to tear down. But now, in 1969, Madear is going to vote for the very first time, and the boys are coming along on this exciting day. A day that puts a new bounce in their mom’s step, and enables them all to begin to dream of a better future.
Wade Hudson and Don Tate give young readers a warm family story as well as a powerful glimpse into the struggle that had to be waged to achieve a fundamental right of citizenship.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Personal and political history intertwines in a warmly affirming tale of two Black siblings witnessing a milestone event—their mother voting for the first time in 1969 Louisiana. An unnamed narrator and younger brother admire Madear, smartly dressed to vote. Concise narration outlines the U.S.'s history of Black voter suppression before following the family to the polling station, which "felt just like being at church, with people greeting us enthusiastically." Voting still requires courage, but exiting the curtained booth to friends' "Amen!"s, Madear discusses how good the action feels. She also speculates on a world in which Black people will be elected to political office, an idea shown as actualized when Madear votes in the 2008 Presidential election. In brown-outlined digital watercolor and mixed-media images by Tate, Madear's hands-on-hips stance embodies power and pride in an intergenerational book about a woman who "walked into a voting booth... and allowed us to imagine a different future." Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Creators' notes conclude. Ages 3–7.
